Dunn Purnsley

Dunn Purnsley (died 1924) was the second-in-command of African-American mob boss Chalky White in Atlantic City, New Jersey during Prohibition.

Jail time
Dunn Purnsley was born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and he was a member of the large African-American community of the city, numbering 10,000 people. He worked as a cook at one of the kitchens at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, and he was subjected to poor living conditions, being served mush; he was angered when he saw delicious leftovers being thrown away. Purnsley was arrested in 1921 for getting into a knife fight, and he met imprisoned mob boss Chalky White in prison. Purnsley did not like White because of his marriage to a light-skinned African-American woman, for his pretense of knowing how to read, and for his ego, and Purnsley tore the book David Copperfield (which White had claimed was Tom Sawyer) from his hands to make a point. White had the other cell mates stand up for him, and they restrained Purnsley and beat him to a pulp when Purnsley attempted to attack White. When the cell mates were released from prison, Purnsley would decide to work for White.

General strike
In the summer of 1921, Purnsley decided to encourage his fellow kitchen workers to start a strike, saying that the oppressive white businessmen would be put out of business if all of the workers refused to work. The boss fired Purnsley after he complained about his food, but other men stood up next to Purnsley, and they also refused to do work. They proceeded to throw food at the boss and ransack the kitchen, beginning the 1921 Atlantic City general strike. When 50 white men with billy clubs moved to attack the strikers on the boardwalk, Purnsley told the strikers to hold the line, and they fought back against the mob. Purnsley was later present when White and Jimmy Darmody agreed to a deal; White would end the strike, and Darmody would respond by paying the families of the four victims of a Ku Klux Klan attack, handing over the Klansmen who murdered them, and having his murder charges dismissed. Purnsley would continue to work as an ally of White, becoming his second-in-command.